“Sustainable hospitality is practically a new profession.
» Director of the departmental tourism agency (ADT), Christelle Taillardat is aware of the efforts required of Aube hotels in terms of sustainable development.
To support them in this virtuous policy, the ADT devotes a significant part of its budget to it via environmental labeling.
The latter, initiated by the Betterfly Tourism organization, consists of a rating, from A to E, on the environmental impact of hotels.
This transparent approach then allows establishments to communicate with their customers.
Five criteria are evaluated: greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption on site, life cycle water consumption (manufacture of electrical and electronic equipment and hotel consumables as well as its consumption energy), the depletion of the environment in non-renewable fossil resources (coal, natural gas, etc.) and the share of organic and eco-labeled products used.
“We are one of the most advanced departments in this approach,” explains Didier Leprince, president of ADT.
From now on, when an establishment is created, it must commit to the economic, social and environmental triptych.
» ADT is fully responsible for auditing and displaying the performance of each hotel.
Notes valid for 5 years
The objective is to audit the 54 establishments in Aube by 2026 and give them a rating.
They are valid for a period of 5 years.
Responsible for sustainable development for the hotel industry at ADT, Pierre-Alexandre Cousin occupies this mission 100%.
Two other of his colleagues have been trained to support him when necessary.
First, he goes to the hotels to carry out a pre-audit and study areas for improvement before the rating is given.
Especially if it doesn't look good.
“We offer hotels an action plan and we can guide them to obtain this or that subsidy.
» There are no small gestures to reduce its environmental impact but the specialist recognizes that “a large part of the bill is linked to energy consumption bills.
»
Air conditioning turned off, frothers, local products…
Recently, he audited the B&B hotel in Lavau, in the Trojan area and close to a shopping center.
Let's kill the suspense: the establishment, which emerged a few years ago, obtained an A, the best grade.
To the great pleasure of its promoter, Laurent Sindres-Dubois, who designed the project with sustainable development in mind.
“It’s all the more remarkable as we are in the economic hotel industry.
The equation was tense because the financial margin was not great,” underlines Christelle Taillardat.
The hotel has neglected no detail to reduce its environmental cost.
For example, a system allows you to turn off the air conditioning in a room as soon as a window is opened.
The short circuit operates at full capacity for breakfast with many products made in the department such as honey.
“We also installed aerators on the taps and dual-flow toilet flushes,” adds Laurent Sindres-Dubois.
We have a project for photovoltaic panels on the roof terrace.
» He does not hide the fact that this approach is a plus on reservation platforms.
“People are becoming more and more sensitive to it.
»
Since the start of the year, around ten hotels in Aube have been audited.
Grades range from A to C with a majority of Bs. While there will undoubtedly be unpleasant surprises throughout the audits, inexpensive adjustments, even in old establishments, can significantly improve the grade.